My 2013 Mr. Olympia Predictions

My 2013 Mr. Olympia Predictions

This may very well be the most exciting Olympia that we’ve seen in recent years. I know gurus and armchair athletes say that all the time, but I actually believe it. First of all, we will have three Mr. Olympias onstage at the same time: Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, and Dexter Jackson. That’s something that hasn’t been seen since 1984 when Lee Haney competed against Samir Bannout and Chris Dickerson. That’s crazy! [Editor’s note: Even in 1984, we didn’t see three previous Mr. Olympias take the stage at once; only Bannout and Dickerson had won the contest, and Haney was about to win for the first time.] Secondly, Cutler is making a huge comeback after sitting out for the 2012 season for both personal and professional reasons. Can he take the crown back yet again from the champ? Will this finally be Kai Greene’s year to get a Sandow? Who the heck is this cartoonish “Big Ramy,” and what kind of damage will he do? Where will Branch Warren fit in all of this?

So many exciting questions will all be answered Sept 27–29 in Las Vegas, Nevada! And now, without further ado…

My Top 6 In The Men’s Open Bodybuilding:

Phil Heath: Essentially perfect. He’s polished, refined, peeled, aesthetic—he’s the complete package. This is definitely going to be one of those years when the other contenders will have to knock out the champ as opposed to everyone starting with a clean slate. This is 100 percent Phil’s show to lose. I hate to beat a dead horse, but when it comes to what might hurt him onstage, Phil Heath is narrow on top. His clavicles’ bone structure is just narrow. So although he has these cannonball delts, he just doesn’t have the same imposing presence as someone with a shoulder-to-waist ratio like Kai Greene’s.

Kai Greene: This is the year Kai is going to nail it. His conditioning and his size will be in perfect harmony and balance. All year, everyone has been talking about the shape he’s kept himself in during his guest-posing appearances. That, combined with his ridiculous legs, and the improvements he’s made to his traps, will make him a definite contender.

Jay Cutler: He took 2012 off to focus on his business, and this may have cost him the 2013 title. He won’t have the size that he did in years past, because his off-season training and diet leading up to this show weren’t perfect. As a result of all the guest appearances and promotions he did to promote BPI and his new line of supplements, it was very hard for him to regain and/or keep the size he used to have. He was also injured more than a year ago (which is another reason he sat last year out) and took a lot of time off to recover. If he can bring insane conditioning to make up for the lack of size, then he might stand a chance to place in the top three.

Shawn Rhoden: At 39 years old, he’s no spring chicken, but he has all the makings of a champion. He has such a great package and brings exceptional conditioning. He has the size, the height, the beautiful, aesthetic lines, and just an overall great structure. If I had to nitpick, though, I’d say he needs a little improvement from the rear—namely, his back development. He picked up this sport a little late in life (compared to guys such as Dexter and Jay, who are roughly the same age but have been training longer), and he took six years off after losing his father, so the density and muscular maturity that you get from decades of consistent training just isn’t there.

Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay: The dark horse. No one saw this guy coming at the New York pro. He knocked Victor Martinez out of his own hometown show. A young gun at only 28 years old, he supposedly has been training for only three or four years. We’ve never seen a bodybuilder with this structure and size (his shoulder-to-waist ratio is insane for a guy who competes in the high 280s) come in with such great conditioning. His back is jaw-dropping, but his crispness and detailing from the rear when he hits his poses could use some work. This is something that will come with age and maturity.

Ben Pakulski: I have a feeling our Canadian boy is going to do really well at the O this year. He’s had a great run in 2013 so far, having placed second at the Arnold Classic and third at the Australian Pro Grand Prix, both of which were in early March. To me, this means that his body has had ample time to rest, so he has a good chance of hitting his peak again in late September and perhaps nailing the conditioning/size combination once more. He’s done an exceptional job at keeping his midsection in check, which was a huge flaw in the past; there was a noticeable difference between the Aussie Pro and the Arnold.